


A Month Later, In London...

by california_112



Category: Blake et Mortimer | Blake and Mortimer
Genre: Book : Le Secret de l'Espadon | The Secret of the Swordfish, Gen, London
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-21
Updated: 2020-05-21
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:19:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,236
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24305014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/california_112/pseuds/california_112
Summary: "Why did we stop here?" Mortimer asked, his voice slightly husky."I thought you would be…interested to see what normality is."Mortimer turned slowly on the spot, taking in the charred trees and collapsed rooves, snapped beams protruding from the wreckage like knives in the back of the world. "So this is what Damdu's weapons did."-or-A month after victory, Blake and Mortimer meet again in London. Everything has changed, but some things always stay the same.SPOILERS FOR THE SECRET OF THE SWORDFISH
Comments: 2
Kudos: 6





	A Month Later, In London...

Just before ten o'clock, with the sun now riding high through thin bands of cloud, a military transport aircraft landed at RAF Northolt, carrying the last of the personnel from the Strait of Hormuz base. Among them was Professor Mortimer, who stretched as he stepped to the ground, lighting his pipe before strolling towards the mostly-undamaged terminal building. Minutes later, Captain Blake, in immaculate uniform, met him at the entrance, and the two exchanged greetings.

"Philip, how are you?" Blake asked, shaking his companion's hand firmly.

Mortimer replied with a little less energy. "Oh, I'm fine old chap." he said, with a wan smile. "It's a weight off my mind that everything's finally finished at the Strait of Hormuz, and I can get back to something like normality."

"Something like it…" Blake replied, as they headed for the exit.

The car that had bought the Captain to the airfield was still waiting, so the pair got in, and were soon speeding towards central London.

"So, Philip, what exactly have you been doing recently?" Blake opened, "You said everything was finished in Hormuz?"

"Yes," Mortimer replied, "we've finished taking out all the equipment from the caves and stripped them back to their natural structure, then re-flooded some parts. It doesn't sound like much, but with all those massive pieces of machinery, not to mention the nuclear material, the logistics alone took a week to work out." He rubbed his eyes briefly. "What about you, Francis? I haven't heard from you since you left the base a week after victory."

"Well, I've been moving around quite a bit." Blake explained. "I've only actually been in London since yesterday. There were talks in Berlin, Washington, Rome…everywhere is starting to heal, but it needs organisation. It feels I've done more travelling in the past few weeks than in my whole life!"

The taxi fell silent, and both occupants turned to the windows. They were passing through the suburbs of London now, but the previously familiar streets were now unrecognisable. Charred rubble sat in place of half the houses, some in the process of being cleared by workmen. Closer to the city centre, glassless windows showed a view to the sky where a roof should have been in most buildings. Everywhere was chaos.

Blake suddenly realised that although he had seen snippets of this destroyed capital and much of others, Mortimer wouldn't have. Turning to his friend, the wide eyes, open mouth, and overall blank expression told of the shock that Mortimer was feeling. Eventually, the car pulled up near St Pauls Cathedral, which was miraculously still standing, though very dirty from smoke and fire. Blake and Mortimer stepped onto the pavement, craning their necks in silence at the ancient, resilient, dome.

"Why did we stop here?" Mortimer asked, his voice slightly husky.

"I thought you would be…interested to see what normality is."

Mortimer turned slowly on the spot, taking in the charred trees and collapsed rooves, snapped beams protruding from the wreckage like knives in the back of the world. "So this is what Damdu's weapons did."

"It's just the same in Washington, Berlin…Rome is even worse." Mortimer did not reply. "Let's walk."

They set off through the streets, billowing coats occasionally snagging on debris. After a few minutes, they climbed through what had been a side wall of a grand building, and surveyed the view from the crest of a pile of shattered concrete and stonework. They could now see quite a few streets, buildings half-collapsed. Through the skeletal remains of window frames, St Pauls was framed against the sky.

"Good lord! So much ruin…" Mortimer said, his teeth gripping his pipe.

Now over his first shock, for this was not his first sight of ruins, Mortimer was turning through anger to acceptance. When he had heard that most of Hyde Park was intact, including his beloved Park Lane, he had thought that the damage would not have been as severe as what he had seen. Now he understood that the damage wasn't even- some areas had survived far better than others.

"Yes, old chap." Blake replied heavily, but then his tone lightened. "But we will rebuild! And, once more, civilisation's head the last word!" He turned to his friend, a smile on his face, and gestured to the ruins. "Let's hope that it will be for good, this time!!!"

They stood looking for a minute more, before returning to street level to be out the way of the workmen. Looking to his friend, Mortimer noticed that Blake looked suddenly tired, although it was not yet the middle of the day.

"Francis, are you alright?" Mortimer asked, looking concerned, "You look dead on your feet."

"I'm alright, it's just…everything's happened so fast, I can hardly get my head around it." Blake replied. "I haven't stopped moving for weeks."

He suddenly seemed to wake up with a small shake of his head, blinking. "Well, I've been given a temporary office in the remaining wing of Buckingham Palace. I've quite a lot of paperwork to get done, so I'll…"

"Really, Francis, you cannot be thinking of working now. You said only got back from travelling yesterday!"

"And, having concentrated on international affairs for the past weeks, there is still so much to organize here." he replied, voice heavy. "Where you and your department are going to work, for example…proper facilities for the Swordfish squadrons…"

"That doesn't need to be done right this minute, surely." Mortimer gave his friend a stern look. "You need a break."

"Well…yes, alright." Blake finally gave in, and slotted his hands into his pockets, yawning. "I'll take the evening off. See you tomorrow, then." He turned away from the collapsed wall and started walking.

"Where are you going?"

Mortimer's call stopped him in his tracks, and he turned back. "There're some barrack tents in St James' park that I snuck into last night. Technically they're for NCOs, but-"

"Nonsense!" Mortimer took a step forwards, smiling. "You're not sleeping in any tent tonight, you're coming home with me."

Blake blinked in surprise. "To- to Park Lane?"

"I heard it escaped most of the bombing, I just hope my key still fits. And there could have been looters…"

The Captain looked embarrassed. "Really, I couldn't. I'm sure there will be space-"

"-in my spare bedroom." Mortimer stepped forwards and caught his friend's arm. "Really, Francis, you can be so difficult sometimes."

Walking to the main road, they hailed a taxi. Weaving through the streets for twenty minutes bought them to Grosvenor Square, from where they walked to 99A Park Lane. Here, on the edge of Hyde Park, a number of trees had survived, and new jewel-green leaves fluttered in the breeze, clinging to smoke-blackened branches. Mortimer rummaged through his pockets for his key, eventually finding it fallen into the lining. He hadn't had reason to hold it for years- and now, after all he'd been through, he was coming home.

After stepping through the door into a cavern of dust, spiderwebs, and fallen fragments of plaster, he turned back to hold the door for Blake. The sight of his best and closest friend standing on the top step, smiling at him wearily against a background of almost complete destruction, finally bought the truth home to him. Even though it would take months, years even- in the end, everything was going to be alright.

**Author's Note:**

> and then they were flatmates
> 
> This is inspired by the last panel of The Secret of the Swordfish: SX-1 Strikes Back, and I've borrowed the lines of dialogue from it (as well as my title...!). I've been meaning to write this one for a while, I hope y'all like it! These two are so fun to write about...hopefully more coming soon :)


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